Breathless
by RealmThirteen
Summary: There is something wrong with the new girl and everyone seems to be blind to it. Her incredible fighting ability, deranged personality, and random appearance in the small mountain town begins to slowly attract the wrong attention. One night, following her home from school, the town's own superhero discovers her secret, a burden that only he could ever understand the weight of.
1. See Me

_Hi everybody~!_

_This is my first fic so don't judge if it's terrible! Hope you like it anyways... I know I skip around a lot with paragraphs and scene changes in this chapter, the rest won't be like that (hopefully). Anyways please enjoy  
_

_-Realm13_

* * *

Chapter One

See Me

A loud siren blares down the hall as a girl in a paper thin hospital dress runs as fast as she can down a long white corridor, sweat dripping down her face like rain. She can't distinguish her tears from her sweat and blood, but she keeps running. The door is in sight, so close now, but an eternity away. In between her and the endless white hallway through the endless blaring corridor, screaming its horrible tune and shooting its horrible caw up her spine are _them. _

"Stop it at all costs!" A male voice shouts behind her. _Faster. _

The girl extends her hand, fingers clawing at the air. She is feet, inches, centimeters away from the handle when a gunshot explodes behind her and she crumples instantly like paper to the floor. Blood steadily begins to pool out of a wound in her stomach. _Oh God… _

The alarm still screams as she fades out of consciousness and into the embrace of death, her fingers resting on the white door frame.

…

All eyes fall upon the child at the front of the room in unison. Half of the eyes stare with a bored disinterest, mostly the girls. The other eyes search and wander, poke and prod, dig and focus, watching, memorizing, and observing every angle of the child. Standing beside the homeroom teacher is a short girl. She is nearly two feet smaller than the teacher with light brown short hair cut into a relatively styled pixie cut.

"That's cute." A girl with long curly blonde hair and a red jacket whispered to another girl beside her. The girl in the purple jacket and pink hat nods, whispering something in response.

The girl at the front shifted under the heavy gazes of the other children, but does not crumple nor shy away as they began to observe her even closer. Her eyes are a bold and burning shade of green, an almost neon green. Her skin is flawless and a little pale, her cheekbones high and her body type thin. Around her shoulders is a grey backpack slung lazily on top of a grey-ish teal hoodie, the type with strings around the neck. Her pants are black jeans and her shoes are white converse. Her expression is empty, unreadable.

"Class, I'd like you to meet…" The teacher glances down momentarily to the paper on his desk. "…Lirah Kitz." The girl shifs under the weight of her own name and her gaze changed for a minute. After hearing her name most of the silent chatter and note passing gossip had ceased, and most of the students had accepted the fact of a new student and moved on, disinterested. But one of the boys in the class continued to stare. "You can seat beside Stan." The teacher motioned towards a boy with a blue and red hat. Just barely peeking out from behind the brim of the hat were small, scraggly strands of ink black hair. The boy is wearing a plain brown jacket and doodling something onto a page of his notebook. At the mention of his name the boy straightened and scooted his things down to one side of the table, making room for the short haired girl.

Lirah slowly moves, making no sound at all, to sit beside the boy. She glances at him and he nods in acknowledgement of her presence.

One boy continued to stare from the other side of the room. Something about this new girl seemed to stick to his thoughts. And it isn't a good feeling.

About an hour later the school bell trills loudly through the classroom. Every student moves at the same moment, grouping into bunches in the corners of the room or moving in small clouds out into the hallway.

The girl called Lirah stands and looks at the boy beside her. "Thank you." She mutters softly, her voice is like a whisper.

"Huh? Oh yeah, if you need anything, just ask. Lirah, right?"

"I go by Lie, usually."

"What kind of dumb-ass nickname is that?" A fat boy from behind them snorts loudly. Lirah turns to face him. His hair is entirely hidden under a yellow and sky blue hat. Around his shoulders is a red jacket, a white T-shirt visible underneath.

Before Lirah has a chance to respond a boy in a green hat shouts something in return. "Lay off, fat-ass."

"Jew!" The large boy crones back. The four boys left in the room look at the girl with expressions of utter confusion plastered to their faces. Lirah begins to giggle, then laugh.

"That's funny to you?" The boy under the green hat asks.

"Y-yes!" Lie chuckles, still laughing.

Stan and the boy in the green hat exchange a look of confusion.

"But, you're a girl…" Stan mutters.

"So? That was funny." She shrugs, grabbing her bag of the floor.

"Really?"

"Crazy bitch." The boy in the blue and yellow hat hisses. Lie turns to him and gives him such a look that his blood runs cold instantly. The boy doesn't back down, he just silences as he stands to grab his bag.

"So, you're new?" The boy in the green hat asks, walking over. Lie nods. "From where?"

"A-Arizona." She stutters, as if surprised by the question.

"Isn't it hot there?" Lie nods.

"I like the cold much better." She shrugs, giving a cocked smile.

"Crazy bitch." Everyone ignores him now. A feeling suddenly creeps up on the brown haired girl and she quickly glances to the other side of the room. On the very other end of the front row one person was still sitting, fixated on her. His face is hidden under the hood of a bright orange parka, the jeans around his legs ripped and filthy. He is sitting up perfectly straight, watching her. Lie repeats the gesture, uneasy.

The other boys notice the direction of her gaze and turn to follow her eyes.

"Kenny?" Stan asks. Immediately the boy snaps out of his trance and looks away quickly.

"Lie, right? I'm Kyle, the asshole is Cartman, and this is Stan. The one gawking at you is Kenny." The boy gives a brief introduction, pointing at each boy.

A garbled reply comes out of the boy in the parka. "What?" Lie asks.

"He says, 'I wasn't gawking, shut the hell up, Kyle.'"

The boy in the orange parka yanks apart the flaps of the hood violently, his face crimson with anger and embarrassment. His golden blonde hair lies in feathery patterns across his burning blue eyes. His dirt smudged face is slightly tanned despite the cold weather and one white bandage is on his left cheek. He glares at Kyle with his swimming blue eyes. Lie can't help but notice his beauty and crack a small smile.

"Kyle, are you driving?" Stan turns, pulling his backpack up over his shoulders, tossing a strand of black hair out of his brown eyes.

"Yeah…" Kyle notices Lirah shifting uncomfortably behind them. "Do you want to come, Lie? We're going to the mall so we can buy this new game-"

"She doesn't care about that shit." The boy called Cartman grumbles bitterly.

"Actually… I do but… I can't, I have to finish doing something." She smiles at the boys, encouraged by their kind invitation.

Something clicks in Kenny's mind, something about the girl's eyes. Something about her smile was… wrong. He's seen that look so many times before, but couldn't put his finger on where. Something was bothering him- no- haunting him about Lie.

"Unpacking?" Kyle offers. Lie nods, smiling again.

"Where do you live?" Kenny asks, leaning against the desk. Lirah turns about to open the door.

"Stalker much?" Cartman sniggers.

"Shut the fuck up, fat ass!" Kenny hisses behind him. Lie chuckles gently. That look comes into her eyes again. "I'm asking in case you need someone to walk you home, so you don't get lost…"

Stan whistles suggestively and the other two boys laugh. Kenny's face turns bright red again. Lie laughs. "I'll be fine, thanks." She turns, closing the door behind her. Only Kenny can see the look in her eyes before the door closed. She looked like she was about to scream.

…

The loud whooshing of fabric out in the night air travels to Lie's ears, it doesn't bother her. Probably a kite or jacket stuck in a tree. She leans back against the tree where her small camp is formed, closing her eyes for a moment. In front of her is a small camp fire, beside her the grey backpack, and behind her a wadded up blanket. Suspended over the fire by a string hanging from a low tree branch is a pan-like contraption filled with water. It steadily boils.

Suddenly the branch snaps and the pan comes crashing down into the fire. Lie jumps nearly four feet in the air, her breath now panicked.

She listens around her to the sound of the night, and something doesn't belong. With a loud whoosh of fabric whipping through air a figure lands on the other side of her fire, facing her. The figure is a mere silhouette behind the flame, its face and features hidden. The figure is hooded and wearing a long, deep purple cape. No facial features are visible except for a deep scowl.

"Dick! You made my thing fall!" The girl quips loudly, groaning, not even fazed.

"Lirah?" His voice is deep and fake, grave and intimidating.

She gulps after removing the pot from the flame. The fire lurches forward again, the figures features becoming clearer. The figure is a boy about a foot taller than her wearing a black mask and a dark purple hood over a light purple suit with a green M sewn on the chest. His belt contains an assortment of weapons and what seems to be fireworks. On the very top of his hood bobs a green question mark on a spring. His face is pressed into a deep scowl.

"Yeah…" She stands, her hand moving to her back slowly.

The figure knows what she is doing. "Do not move for a weapon. I won't hurt you."

She scoffs. "Really?"

"Yes. Lirah?"

"That's my name." Her hand finds her hip and she cracks a frown. Her eyes narrow to a sharp intensity. "How about you Mr. Under-wear-outside-my-pants. You have a name?"

"Mysterion."

She chuckles. "Town 'superhero' I presume? I heard about you on my way in. I did some research on the town before I moved… there are whole blogs about you!"

"Yes." Mysterion's features gradually relax. Lirah's eyes widen and she cracks a wide smile.

"What's your super power?"

"What?" He seems surprised and Lirah rocks forward on the balls of her feet. "_All _superheroes have powers or else you're just… lame."

"That's not for you to know."

"Secretive much?" Mysterion doesn't react to her words. She sighs dryly.

"What are you doing out here?" He asks.

"None of your concern, _Mysterion._" She kicks out her fire and grabs her bag, straightening her bag and staring down his figure in the now endless dark of the night. "You know, you should really wear a different outfit. You'll get hit by a car in all of those dark colors and die." She turns, walking out of the clearing, but not before Mysterion could get one more look at her haunting eyes.

Then it hits him. The look on her face. It's the look of a burden.

And he's only seen it one other place before.

In the mirror.

Lirah makes a sharp turn, darting between trees. She kicks herself mentally. _Why a town superhero? Why? _She shakes her head, nearly running into a tree. Her swimming thoughts have begun to blind her into a garbled panic but yet even in the dark woods of this mountain town she seems more composed than she had been standing in a classroom.

But then again, she's had more experience in the woods than in a classroom. Or anywhere with a large population of judgmental teenagers.

_Does he know? _She stops, dead in her tracks. _No, some half-assed vigilante couldn't know. _Lirah shakes her head again, cracking a tiny smile.

"Know what?"

Lie whips around on her heel. Standing just behind her is Mysterion, eyes narrowed and prodding. "Was I… talking out loud again?" Her face turns a scarlet shade of pink. The boy nods. "God dammit…" She slaps herself in the forehead.

"What couldn't a half-assed vigilante like me know?" The boy smirks.

"Things. About… stuff." The brunette waves him off, turning to walk away. "Besides, just… you wouldn't believe me." She huffs, trying to get him to leave.

"Trust me, you wouldn't imagine the things I've been through." The girl scoffs, scowling at him and stalking right up to his figure until they are toe to toe. Her head only reaches his shoulders but her gaze is menacing and fierce all the same. She's testing him.

"Try me." A light flickers behind her eye and she twists again on her heel, sauntering off out towards the direction of the street. "Don't try and follow me! This time I won't talk to myself!" She calls behind her.

Mysterion turns away, smirking. Something about her. Something about those eyes… It makes Kenny feel like he is an idiot, like there is something there, daring him, looking him right in the face. But it couldn't be what he thinks. That look… he must be mistaking it. There's no way she could have the look he thinks.

There's no way she can have something that heavy on her shoulders.

Right?


	2. Day One

_Hi everyone! _

_Thanks for continuing to read, I hope to keep updating this fast as the story progresses. I want to say thanks to my reviewers, Jjtt134567890 and wildcat39. _

_I did notice a few minor grammar mistakes I made in the previous chapter, like I muddled a few lines of dialogue together and forgot a period here and there or a capitol letter where I didn't need one. I'll have those fixed before I post the next chapter (hopefully). I know I do a lot of scene changes in this chapter that I said I'd try not to do last chapter but I promise the next chapter is when I'll really acutally get into the story. It'll be a lot longer and actually have some "action" I guess...  
_

_Thanks for reading anyways,_

_-Realm13_

* * *

Chapter Two

Day One  


"Did you hear on the news this morning, about that girl?"

"Another one?"

"Yeah, another girl got kidnapped again last night." Kyle says, leaning forward on his desk, resting his chin in his palm. Sitting around the collection of two desks pushed together is the usual gang, Stan beside Kyle, Cartman in front of Kyle, and Kenny next to him. "God it just makes me sick to think about it…"

"That's like what, the third girl? I hope they catch that fucker soon." Stan says. Kenny growls under his breath. He had been hunting the man responsible since the first disappearance until he was distracted for a split second and lost him. He has been out almost every night since, looking for the same asshole with no avail. He's a clever bastard and Kenny has managed to take a deep personal responsibility for each disappearance. And each morning listening to the other kids at school talk about it casually, like any other news story, is absolute torture.

"Dude, Kenny… you okay?" Kyle asks, looking at the blonde with concern. His face is nearly flushed red with anger, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose with deep intensity, his crystal blue eyes focused on a point somewhere in the distance.

"Yeah. Just pisses me off, that's all." He groans under his breath, leaning back in the chair. The door to the class room pushes open and Lie slinks in, barely making a sound. Kenny seems to be the only one to notice at first, but then again, he seems to notice almost everything.

She is wearing the same jacket and seems to be gripping the strap of her backpack a little tighter, a slight hint of nervousness in her eyes. _She's probably looking for which one of us is Mysterion. _Kenny thinks pride fully to himself. He watches Lie move around the room uneasily for a few minutes, weaving inbetween throngs of talking girls and boys alike before stopping in front of the two desks.

Kyle's, Stan's, and Cartman's eyes all widen with surprise as she pulls up a chair and sits backwards on it, facing the boys with her arms folded over the back seat.

"Uh, hi?" Cartman offers bitterly.

"Do you need something?" Stan asks, unsure what to make of this. Not even his girlfriend, Wendy, would willingly sit with a group of vulgar teenage boys. Especially at least not _them. _

Lie shakes her head no. "Do you mind if I sit here? You're kinda the only people I know."

"N-no but wouldn't you rather sit with the other girls?" says Kyle.

She shakes her head again. "Nah." She leans forward, whispering to only the boys. "I'm sort-of past dealing with bitchy girls and gossip." Lie leans back into the chair again, eyes twinkling with mischief. A certain tiredness seems from the air around her but the other boys don't seem to mind. Besides, she isn't _bad _looking.

_In a way, she's actually kind-of cute… _Kenny catches himself mid thought.

"Really? Uh, okay…" Kyle says, eyes drifting down to his homework. He's scribbles a sort of doodle into the margin of his paper and Lie leans out of her chair, head almost on his shoulder to look at it.

"Wow! That's _good!_" She says a little enthusiastically. The drawing is of a sparrow with dark speckled wings and a sharp yet small beak. Its wings spread out on either side and the eyes are all but hidden under the heavy thickness of the pencil lines of the head. Kyle blushes a little, partially because a girl is practically leaning over him voluntarily, and because of her compliment.

"Thanks… it's nothing."

"You should see some of the other crap he does." Kenny chirps.

"Oh yeah, one time he drew this landscape thing where…" The boy's calm chatter drifts in one ear and out of the other. Lie leans on her hand, sighing silently with pleasant joy. _I wish it could be like this all the time…_

The sharp ringing of the bell blares throughout the room like a shrill cry and Lie nearly jumps three feet in the air. Her eyes widen with brief panic, then return to an embarrassed glow as everyone in the room has turned to look at her.

"What a weird kid…" A red haired girl whispers to a blonde beside her.

"You said it."

"Where on Earth does she get her hair done?"

"Yeah, is it supposed to be all spikey like that?"

"Is she a tomboy?"

"I think I saw some blood on her socks..."

"She looks like she should be a grade behind she's so short!"

"Jumpy…"

"Weird…"

"Is she gay?"

"Okay, do they just assume I can't hear them or do they really just not give two shits?" Lie asks the boys quietly.

"Probably both, stupid bitches." Cartman grumbles, trying to copy Kyle's homework answers upside down.

"You said it…" Lirah mutters, blowing her longest strand of chin-length bangs out of her eyes. She wears a disappointed yet playful scowl. The classroom door swings open and a balding male teacher walks in. He's wearing a bright green jacket and thick square rimmed glasses are perched on his nose. His brow is slightly wrinkled and a coffee cup is clutched tightly in his hand. Folders are under his right arm and he seems more than displeased about being in a classroom full of ninth graders.

"Alright, students please sit down and stop talking so I can finish this period and get on with my life…" He flops down ungracefully into the chair and the students brake off into groups of two kids on each desk. Not really sure where else to go, Lie swings her chair around the table and flops down next to Kenny. She offers a small smile before turning back to the front of the room where the teacher, Mr. Garrison, has begun to write on the board. "Today I'm assigning you an essay project due next week…" This earns mixed reactions from each kid, some groaning wildly, some muttering small giggles of excitement, mostly the girls. "… I'll be picking your partners so don't get too hyped." This earns a cacophony of groans from around the room.

"Great. Knowing my luck I'll get stuck with Tweek. Again." Kenny groans under his breath.

"Who?" Lie glances around the room.

"Him." Kenny nods towards a rail-thin boy with scraggly and matted orange-blonde hair. Large circular bags are under his eyes like crescent purple shadows and his lips are cracked and pale, like his skin. His shirt is buttoned incorrectly and he tugs nervously at a lock of his hair, twitching every few moments and blinking rapidly. The boy named Tweek mutters under his breath something that sounds a little like, "Oh Jesus". "He didn't even do any work, he totally just sat there drinking coffee the whole time. He swore it was just coffee but I swear it was drugs. No one acts like that just because they _are _like that. We failed and he ran out of the room and into the bathroom. Clyde says he was so freaked out he peed himself." Kenny smirks at the memory, his full face exposed. His hood sits around his shoulders now.

Lie chuckles. "Damn. Hope I don't get stuck with him."

"Alright, Um... listen for your name and once I read it move your stuff to go sit by your partner. We'll spend most of today and tomorrow's period working on the planning part of the assignment, the rest will be up to you. Let's see... Bebe and Red-" The two girls, a blonde and a bright red head screech in wild excitement, "-Wendy and Tweek-"

"Oh God!" The ink haired girl slams her head into the desk and the boy named Tweek twitches violently.

"Gah!" He tugs at his hair nervously. "I-I can't work with a girl! Gah! Oh God I'm gonna fail again!"

"-Clyde and Milly, Kyle and Kenny-"

"Yes!" Kenny and Kyle say in unison, smiling widely.

Mr. Garrison continues down his list. "Cartman and Butters-"

"God Dammit Butters!" Cartman shouts loudly.

A boy with bleach blonde hair blushes brightly and shifts uncomfortably. "Not again..." He mutters softly in a funny-sounding childish voice.

"Eric! Stop yelling at your partner!" The teacher yells even louder, scowling.

"Only when he stops _breathing! _Mr. Garrison I refuse to work with the likes of _Butters._"

"Well too bad, Eric. He's your partner now deal with it, and this essay better not be about why you should never be paired with Butters again like _last _time."

"He seriously wrote about that?" Lie asks Kenny softly.

"Hell yeah. I think Mr. Garrison just puts them together because he likes to torture Cartman."

"Nice." Lie chuckles.

"I know."

"Lastly Stan and Lirah." Mr. Garrison puts down his list and Lie feels the sting of a spieful gaze on her. She turns to find the ink haired girl named Wendy glaring at her, shooting daggers with her eyes. The girl is honestly stunning with soft black hair partially hidden under a pink beanie hat. Her jacket is a soft purple and she's skinny but not too skinny. She's about average height with nearly perfect skin and lips pressed into a deep scowl. She wears a little bit too much make up around her eyes but besides that Lie can tell obviously why she's so popular.

"Why is she looking at me like that?" Lie asks Kenny. He glances over his shoulder and responds.

"Oh, she's Stan's on and off girlfriend. She broke up with him about a month ago. It's been like... the sixth time now. It's been like this since almost elementary school. It's annoying to try and keep up with them. Wendy can be a little... coo-coo sometimes." Kenny swirls his finger around his ear and crosses his eyes.

"Ah. She hates me cos' I'm working with Stan..."

"Yup." Kenny pops the "P."

Lie chuckles. The noise of chairs scraping on the floor fills the room and the rest of the period is spent working with deep disinterest on the next essay. When the bell rings, Lie jumps again prompting concern from both Kyle and Stan. Kenny doesn't seem to notice and Cartman doesn't really even care.

The rest of the day drags on with a certain boring lull and Lie seems, for the most part, to be enjoying herself. After the final bell Lie stands at her plain locker, clicking her tongue against her teeth when a high pitched voice addresses her from behind. "Hey, Lirah, right?" Lie turns to find Wendy Testaburger standing with a group of four other girls that hand behind her like extras in a movie. The first girl, the one closest to her, is a striking curly-blonde named Bebe. Next to her is the bubbly red head named Red and behind Wendy is a girl with light brown hair called Milly. Lie turns, slinging her backpack over her shoulder and closing her locker.

"Yeah. I go by Lie, though."

"Oh... _Okay_..." Bebe rolls her eyes and whispers something to Red who giggles in response. "Anyways, _Lie_, uh, can we talk for a minute?" Wendy rocks on the heels of her shoes, clutching a purse to her chest.

"Yeah. Sure."

"So, about _Stan_..." Suddenly Wendy's eyes narrow in intimidation and snide cockiness. "Don't get any ideas just because you're the new girl and got paired with the hot athletic guy. Stan's mine and I can guarantee you that he wants nothing to do with you, so save yourself the embarrassment and don't even try for him. Besides, you're so bellow his standards its _sad_." Bebe snickers and Milly whispers something to Red who bursts out in energetic giggles.

Lie simply stares at the girls blandly with no expression what so ever. After a few moments her silence and bizarrely dry gaze begins to make Wendy and the girls a little uncomfortable. Then, Lie simply starts to laugh. It starts out as a dry chuckle to a bubbly and genuine _laugh._ Wendy glares, confused and frustrated. Lirah laughs so hard that tears begin to form in the corners of her eyes and she reaches up to wipe them away. "L-Look," She speaks in between chuckles, "I don't know who you think you are but besides that, ignoring your blatant rudeness and overall bitchy attitude and whorish makeup, I have no interest in your 'guy' what-so-ever. Rest your pretty-little-head assured that you and your on and off boy friend's 'relationship' is safe and sound!" Lie claps her hands together, giving an overly ecstatic expression. Without giving Wendy and her pack a chance to respond, Lie turns on her heel and saunters off down the school hallway without looking back.

...

Lie pushes open the door to the mall, the four boys following closely behind her. Kenny is to her right and Kyle is at her left. Stan and Cartman trail behind the two, chatting about some game they both saw and what system is better to play it on.

"Hey, do you want to come by my house?" Kyle asks Lie as they cross the street into the parking lot.

"Sorry, I can't. I'm looking for someone." Lie says vaguely with a fake-smile.

"Really? Who?" Kenny asks, shuddering a little as a cold breeze whips through the group.

"I've already met him once... last night. I have a feeling he'll come to me but I need to make sure I'm somewhere where he can find me." Lie smiles at the boys, turning around and walking backwards.

"Who?" Stan asks.

"I don't know who he is...!" Lie says, a wide smirk on her bright face. As she turns she whispers something under her breath, an add on to her previous sentence that none of the boys hear. "...y_et._"


	3. The Dark

_Wow! Thanks for all the positive reviews! This is my first South Park fic and to be honest it's going a lot better than I anticipated.  
_

_I have to admit I'm pretty far out of my comfort zone when it comes to writing this type of stuff, especially getting the character's voices right and stuff... plus I haven't really explored the shipping area of South Park yet and I'm not the best when it comes to romance writing! Gah~! I hope that I'll get used to it as the story progresses... I'll just have to see where it goes I guess. _

_And I know, I promised action for this chapter. Well... I lied. But next chapter, most likely. I know, I know... I think this one was necessary though. _

_Thanks again for all the great reviews, it means a lot: Luis Carlos (No, I'm not Spanish), Petunia Violet, SaphiraRyuuka, lexa, and MarioSonicLover. _

_Enjoy,_

_-Realm13_

* * *

Chapter Three

The Dark

Lie arches her back, placing one hand in between each large rock and jumping upwards, suspending herself between each bolder. She swings on her hands with incredible strength and jumps down on the other side. It's the perfect clearing for her camp tonight.

As the sun sets she begins to unpack her things. She rolls out a blanket under the tree with the broadest trunk and ties a rope to two low hanging branches across the entrance to the clearing for a makeshift clothesline. Lie makes a quick head check before taking out a dirty shirt and draping it across the rope along with a pair of pants.

She bends down, digging a hole in the dirt and tossing a handful of sticks into it for a fire later. The sun has slowly begun to set, sending purple and orange trails of clouds across the sky, dotting the horizon in between the trees. Lie digs in her pocket and flips open a lighter, tossing it nonchalantly into the pit. A blaze erupts in the pit and a whooshing noise swishes behind her. Before turning a smirk spreads across her face and she turns to face the figure behind her.

"Hello." She says in a sing song voice, flopping down on a rock, folding her arms over her chest. "I was wondering when you'd come by." The cloaked Mysterion remains silent and stoic, standing like a permanent statue. "Where'd you know to find me?"

"I have eyes everywhere." He says in his gravely fake voice.

"I knew you'd find me eventually when you wanted to. I don't make it too hard. So, we never got to finish our… _conversation _from last night. You still never told me what you wanted." She presses mouth into a thin and dry scowl. Mysterion remains silent. She sighs, pressing a thumb to her temple. "You know what, don't try and lie about it. It's in my name you know, I just… _know." _Lie frowns.

"It's your eyes." He replies dryly.

"My _eyes_?"

"Your eyes. The look in your eyes. I've seen that look before, and I don't like what I see. I came to make sure you weren't… dangerous." Lie stands.

"Let me get this straight, you followed me because of the look in my eyes?"

"Yes."

"And what look is that?" Lie stands, moving closer to him and looking up into his banged up and dirty face. He remains silent. "God your quiet… Look, you wanted to know if I'm dangerous, right? I'll make it easier for both of us. Yes, I am. I'm very, very dangerous. So, you might want to stay the hell away. It'll make both of our lives so much easier." She gives a snide grin and turns, walking the other direction back to her blanket.

"Oh?"

"Mm." She confirms, nodding.

"Why is that?"

"Reasons. As long as you remain secretive, I will too." She smirks over his shoulder in his direction.

Mysterion grunts, a little frustrated. "I'll continue to follow you then." Lie scoffs loudly, then utters a loud and ragged cough. Her body wretches and her lungs scream as she stops her fit. "Are you… alright?"

"Oh? So you do have emotions." Lie chuckles.

"Tell me why you're dangerous." Mysterion presses her further, growing impatient gradually. Lie laughs again, sitting back down on the rock and cracks her knuckles, pushing a piece of thin and feathery brown hair out of her burning green eyes. She cracks a tiny smile. She doesn't need to say anything, neither does Mysterion. They both know her answer. "There's no point in me being here. I have things to do."

"Yeah, have fun with that." Lie waves him off, pulling a water bottle out of her backpack and cracking open the top.

Mysterion grunts in response before walking out of the clearing and disappearing into the dark trees of the forest, alone. That's how he always is, alone. Once Kenny is a safe distance away, he touches his forehead tentatively. He sighs dryly, gulping at the memory of last night. God… if it would have been Karen his father had lashed out at… God forbid… He shudders at the thought. At least he's good for one thing. Speaking of Karen… Mysterion climbs up the gutters to the roof of the Community Center and skips from roof to roof until he finally drops down on the other side of the railroad tracks.

He pauses for a moment at the end of the building, to admire the view briefly. The night air blows calmly through most of the town, except for this end. The "hood" of South Park lies on the other end of an old railroad track. Dotting after in between the forest and the track is a rundown neighborhood inhabited mostly by drug dealers, drug addicts, hobos, or drunk red necks, like his own family. Behind that is an even more disgusting trailer park. Some of the trailers aren't even trailers, they sit on cinder blocks or are just vans with no wheels.

Mysterion sighs, casting his eyes over to his own house. The small one story is one of the only houses in South Park old enough to have a separate one-car garage. The house is coated in an ugly, chipping green shade with shattered windows that have cracks spreading around the edges as well as the frames they're set in. In the front yard is old, brown snow filled with assorted beer bottle shards and cigarettes. An old cooler and a mattress are among some of the many discarded items currently inhabited by a rapidly breeding rat infestation. A red car with a bashed out windshield and no front tires covers part of the drive way and a large dent is smashed into the front door.

The masked boy sighs as he drops down into the backyard of the home. He moves across the wall and peers in through one of the few, still intact windows. Inside is a dimly lit little-girls room with one old and used brown bedframe and a make shift desk held together by different and random discarded pieces of scrap wood. The desk has a mirror hanging over it and assorted pictures cut out of magazines and newspapers are duct tapped onto the walls. Sitting on the chair in front of the desk is a girl, about ten years old, with her knees pulled close to her chest, her head buried in her arms. He back slowly moves up and down with each shuddering sob.

Mysterion gently reaches a gloved hand up to the window's glass pane, gulping down a painful lump in his throat. The pit in his stomach widens with insatiable guilt as he taps gently on it. The little girl with pale brown hair and a small and dirt smudged face jumps at the sound and turns her head to see what the cause is.

She jumps down and hurries over, her old pair of pink pajamas Kenny bought her for her birthday two years ago swish gently around her rail-thin frame as she reaches up to open the window. It doesn't have a lock.

Mysterion crawls in, taking notice of Karen's tears. She notices the hollow look in his blue eyes and her mouth pulls into a small smile.

"It's okay… thank you for coming for me again." Her voice is soft and angelic.

"Don't cry, Karen." The girl nods, swiping away a tear from her eye with the back of her dirty hand.

"I'm sorry-"

"Never be sorry. You never have to be sorry with me." He places his hand on top of her head and rubs it gently. Karen turns, walking over and crawling onto her bed where she leans up against her pillows and buries her face in her knees. Mysterion follows, taking his usual perch beside her.

Despite the little girl's best efforts she bursts into tears again, now, instead of weeping bitterly in silence, she sobs whole-heartedly. She is so wrapped up in her sadness that she hardly notices Mysterion has given her a tight, half-hug. He isn't affectionate most of the time, she's begun to realize this, but she also is aware of just how much he cares. The kindness inside of him and the love he so obviously feels for her is so palpable Karen doesn't need him to express it in any other way. He's her guardian angel. She'd follow him willingly to the end of the earth.

After a few minutes she lifts her head again. Mysterion's cold, ice-blue eyes have softened gradually in concern and his face is mostly hidden by shadows cast by his hood and mask. Karen cracks a tiny, half-heated smile and leans into his side a little. Mysterion neither tenses nor relaxes. He doesn't mind either.

"I-I-I'm sorry…" She mutters quietly through her now subsiding tears. "…I didn't want t-to cry again." Karen closes her eyes for a long moment.

As Mysterion watches her, something catches his eye upon examining the top of her head closely. Near the very center of her head, just slightly askew from the very top, there is small, almost entirely hidden, splatters of moist dark liquid. Using his glove Mysterion gently brushes aside that part of Karen's hair. She winces. Underneath her brown curls, where more hair should have been, was a large, oval, bald patch. The pale skin on top of her head is bloody and scraped horribly. Through the gradually increasing amounts of blood it's hard to see the real injuries but the boy can guess exactly what happened. Instantly his blood runs cold, then fiery with rage.

"I-I'm sorry…"

"Him?" She nods weakly, exhausted and hurting. _I should have been there. _Kenny seethes, ready to scream. He should have been there instead of out in the woods on a hunch that the perfectly innocent seeming new girl had some sort of terrible secret. _Fuck. I'm such an idiot. Should have been here…_

"I was j-just-", she sniffles, "-about t-to… c-clean it and I-I couldn't stop…" She begins bawling again, burying her face into an old and horribly worn doll.

Mysterion stands, moving over to her desk and taking the over-used first aid kit. He sits back down on the bed and after thoroughly cleaning and bandaging the wound, they sit together in silence again.

"Guardian- I mean… Mysterion…"

Karen had never really gotten used to calling Kenny by his cover name, Mysterion. When she was younger he had never bothered to tell her the name, she just called him "Guardian Angel" and that was that. The name was to be honest, more than flattering and knowing she had that much affection towards him was… blinding, in a way. But of course, as she got older, she wanted a name. "_Even angels have names…" _She had said on the night of her eighth birthday two years ago. She still sometimes forgot it.

"Yes?"

"Why do you care about me so much?" She turns her head to look at her guardian, her big, brown eyes swirling with tears she's clearly trying to avoid shedding. "M-my own… parents…"

"Because, you are a beautiful, smart, kind, and underappreciated little girl that needs someone to look out for her. Your parents are drunks and drug addicts, Karen. What they say isn't in the least bit important or true. Don't let them upset you like this."

"B-but they're my… parents…" She whimpers.

"Not everyone has good parents. Do you remember when I told you that?" She nods. "No matter what they say, remember, I care about you. You're important to me, if no one else. And I promise you, there are more. What about your brothers?" She looks up at him with those swimming eyes again.

"K-Kevin doesn't care and… Kenny's never h-home. I-I don't blame him..." Her voice trails off. "I try to leave as much as he does… but my friends' parents don't like me because of my family…" Her voice cracks.

"Don't worry. You have me and I will-"

"-always be here." The two say in unison. Karen cracks a tiny smile and lets out a strained, but emotion full, giggle.

"I need to go now." Mysterion stands, patting her on the head once more. "You should sleep. It's late."

"I know." Mysterion turns to hop out of the window when her soft and angelic voice speaks again. "Guardian Angel?" She doesn't bother to stop herself from using that name this time. "Thank you."

"Goodnight Karen."

With that Kenny had emerged from the silent chaos of his home and back out into the ratty yard that his parents deem "livable" by their twisted standards. His blood boils as he climbs around the house, pausing in the side yard before his own window. The raccoons knocked over the trash cans again.

"God dammit." He mutters bitterly, picking up the trash, mostly consistent of empty beer bottles and syringes mixed in with a few empty boxes of pop tarts, and pushing the cans out to the street. Then he pushes open his window and crawls in, landing on his bed, which lies directly bellow, and bouncing a little. He kneels on the "bed", closing the window behind him.

Kenny's room is probably the most disastrous in the whole McCormick home. His bed consists of two mattresses stacked on top of each other and pushed under his window, covered by a thin and worn sheets, grubby from years' worth of use. His bedside table is missing a drawer and a large crack twists out in the wood, splintering the table and making it brittle and ugly. On top of the table it a lamp with no shade and an old soda can filled with water. His closet is off the hinges and the carpet bellow his feet is a dark brown covered in many stains he's long forgotten about. Posters of models posing half-naked and two Nascar posters are old and held to his wall with silver duct tape. The wall's paint is chipped and peeling, his desk held up on the right side by a stack of phone books. His floor is covered in dirty clothes and empty soda cans and water bottles. His old flip phone is buried under a pile somewhere, probably out of battery so he doesn't bother looking for it.

Sighing, he pulls off the mask and hood, pulling his shirt high above his head. His blonde hair lies scraggly and matted from being cramped under the confines of his costume but he doesn't mind. Kenny pulls off the last few pieces of his costume and folds them carefully, making sure they're tucked safely behind his other clothes in his closet. Not like anyone looks though.

Walking over to his bed in his boxers Kenny steps on a hard and round object, shocking himself. He bends down, picking up his phone. He flips open the cover.

"Huh... guess it wasn't dead." On the screen flashes a little cartoon of an envelope with the words, ONE NEW MESSAGE floating bellow the bouncing icon.

Sitting down on his bed and turning on his light, Kenny begins to read out loud to himself softly. "Dude, got the new game… come down tomorrow, Kyle's place, noon okay?" Kenny types back a reply to Stan's text, sighing.

As he lies down to go to bed the blonde can't seem to get Lie's voice out of his head. "_Yes, I am. I'm very, very dangerous. So, you might want to stay the hell away. It'll make both of our lives so much easier…" _

As much as he wants to ignore her, he knows he can't.

Kenny's never doubted his instincts before. And if Lirah is as dangerous as she admits… _no, don't think about that now. _Yet again he forces himself into a restless fit of sleep where he's haunted by grizzly nightmares of man's most primal fear.

The dark.


	4. Smash

_Hi guys! Thanks for all the great reviews again, in this chapter we finally get into the story!  
_

_Not too much to say but, well, enjoy! ^^_

_-Realm 13_

* * *

Chapter Four

Smash

The sharp and piercing wail of a whistle bursts through the quiet chatter of the children and the loud thud of a chorus of screaming people run towards the center of the gym while one child remains rooted in place, stunned on the floor of the gym. Rubber dodge balls begin to whiz through the air, smashing into some, racing past others. Lie stands amidst the high school slaughter, frozen in confused fear.

The tips of her light brown hair have begun to turn black, the brown die wearing away. The bright red flash of a rubber disk comes barreling out of Eric Cartman's smirking face from the other side of the room. Lie stands, frozen. From standing beside Cartman, Kenny watches Lie with an expression of mixed shock and horror. Lie's eyes, her pupils swimming in the vibrant green irises, begin to rapidly shrink with panic, becoming tiny black pin prints, nearly invisible in the green of her cat like eyes. Her mouth opens, a tiny crack as the ball is just inches away from her nose.

In a fraction of a second Lie's palm shoots outwards, her body shifting into a bizarre, sideways fighting stance, her pupils smash back into their regular size and her gaze turns into a violent, bloody glare. Her fingers grip around the edge of the ball like the claw of a dragon, stopping the strong throw literally in motion.

"Well fuck me." Cartman says, gulping as sweat runs down his face. Lie shifts again, into that bizarre and pointed fighting stance, and hurls the ball with incredible speed and strength in Cartman's direction. The ball smashes into his forehead and he nearly flips over his knees, lying flat out on the floor of the gym. Every other child in the room stops and begins to stare, silently.

"Kitz, out! No head shots!" The gym teacher's shrill voice screeches from the bleachers. Lie's face loses all color and turns to a pale white of a ghost, her body loses the sharp and pointed violence of the instinctual fighting stance drilled into the back of her mind by primal instinct and years of necessity. She gulps, the oversized white gym shirt swishing around her frail form, the one long strand of her brown and black streaked hair rests on the tip of her nose.

"But he…" She mutters the words nearly silently under her breath, so no one hears her but the person standing closest to her. "…attacked me…"

"Attacked you…?" Stan repeats to himself quietly as Lie turns away, her head hung in partial shame to go stand on the side lines.

The dodge ball game then resumes, with Cartman gone, sent away to the nurses office with a potential concussion. After a few minutes, Lie is instructed to re-enter, and she stands quietly in the far end of her side of the court. Stan rushes over before the next round starts.

"Hey, that was pretty sweet, kicking Cartman's ass like that." He elbows her in the side, giving a playful smirk. Lie gives a wide smile back, grinning nearly ear to ear.

"I can do _a lot _more than that… but…" She frowns. "… no head shots?"

Stan laughs, "No head shots." Wendy glares from across the room, whispering something to Bebe. Bebe nods, repeating it to Milly, who repeats it to Red, who repeats it to Rebecca, who repeats it to Kate, until every girl on the opposite team has received a silent message from Wendy.

Kenny runs over to stand next to Kyle. "Stan's getting along well with Lie." Kyle says, looking up at the slightly taller Kenny.

"Mmmuph nmmumph umunfum."

"What?"

Kenny pulls on the strings of his hoodie, shaking out his hair and repeating. "Wendy sees that too." The two boys turn their heads to see all of the girls on their side lined up in a perfect, pack formation, Wendy leading them.

Kyle laughs. "Damn."

The whistle tears through the air and the children all dart forward. Wendy, Bebe, Red, and Rebecca all hold red dodge balls perched in their hands. Lie comes out empty handed and watches with a look of cold calculation as each girl raises their ball.

"Go!" Wendy shouts. Each girl hurls their ball with full speed at Lie's head.

Lie's eyes narrow and she snaps into that same stance, side stepping the first ball by barely a hair. Lie brings her right hand up, snatching Bebe's ball out of the air and smashing Rebecca's ball away with it. She hurls the ball in her right hand towards Wendy just as the fourth and final ball wizzes over her shoulder. Bad Aim.

The final ball in the air sails towards Wendy Testaburger and before she can even glare at Lie, it smashes into her stomach, forcing her to stumble backwards and nearly falling onto the floor.

The bell trills, signaling the end of the second to last period of the day.

"Jesus Christ that was G-Gah!" Awesome…" The blonde boy named Tweek cheers as a crowd gradually begins to form around Lie.

"Thanks…" Her voice is quiet.

"How'd you learn to throw like that?" A dry sounding raven haired boy in blue asks.

"The way you knocked Cartman on his ass!" Token shouts.

"I'd kill to do that once to him…" Kyle says, smirking.

"Thanks…"

"Seriously, fucking awesome, dude." Kenny says and Stan nods.

"Thanks…" Lie glances over the crowd of boys and a handful of goths to see Wendy storming over, a dark look in her eye. Lie turns away from the crowd, hurrying into the girl's locker room and leaning over the sink. She catches her own reflection in the mirror and reaches into her gym locker, pulling her blue hoodie over the gym shirt and quickly shuffling her shorts of and pulling her jeans on. Then Wendy and her group walks in.

"What the hell was that?" Wendy hisses, glaring at Lie in the mirror.

"I'm sorry?"

"I said, what the hell, bitch? I saw the way you were looking at Stan and all of those boys that crowded around you." Wendy snips.

"Are you a whore, Lie?"

"Yeah, bitch?" All of them begin chattering viciously, tearing at the un phased girl.

"Oh look, is that black in your hair?" One of the girls chirps.

"I knew it, brown wasn't even your natural color!" Bebe snickers, kicking over Lie's backpack. The top zipper was undone and her things come spilling out. Lie sighs, finally turning around, and a look of dry disinterest in her eyes.

On the floor now lies two water bottles, one half full the other new. A box of half eaten pop tarts lie open, held closed by a clip. Also now on the floor is a long and worn piece of rope and a half used roll of duct tape. Along with this is her grey tank top and a rusty pocket knife.

"Oh my God guys, look! She has all her stuff in this shity backpack!" The girls begin to snicker and giggle wildly, kicking the things across the locker room floor.

"Look, _Lie," _Wendy says the name like its poison. ",you hang around Stan anymore and I'll make sure everyone in the school knows you're a two faced whore. No, everyone in the goddamn _world._ I'll post your name on websites, and upload pictures of you naked to every blog in the damn world. I'll make sure you can't go anywhere without being recognized." Lie's blood runs cold.

"_Any other threat… anything else I couldn't have cared less about… but the one thing I need to not happen…" _Lie shivers.

"Got it, bitch?" Bebe hisses. Lie nods her face turning pale again. The school bell signaling the last period of the day trills throughout the halls and echoes throughout the locker room. Wendy scoffs.

"Let's beat it." Milly makes one last kick at Lie's things, sending the roll of duct tape skidding across the floor and into the locket set. The door slams shut behind them and Lie breathes a deep shuddering breath.

With a loud and sharp groan Lie whips around on a pivot and smashes her fist into the mirror. The glass shatters with a sharp crack and blood rolls off of her right thumb. Her reflection is now distorted and cracked throughout the different shards of glass.

"_Screw this."_ Wordlessly Lie picks up all of her things and violently throws her backpack over her shoulder, storming out into the gym and out into the street through the back entrance.

Kenny watches from hidden behind the bleachers.

Lie makes out into the road and begins to run as fast as she possibly can towards Stark's Pond through the deserted streets, tears beginning to sting the corners of her eyes. Not because of Wendy or because of any other petty girl, but because of _this. _Her situation and her life. It's never going to get better and it's never going to go away. She'll always be like this and everyone else will be too. Afraid.

She hears the noise of feet hitting pavement out of sync with her own pounding footsteps and turns around, stopping in the middle of the road. She throws her arms up in the air above her head, walking in a circle in place, speaking between violent shuddering sobs. "Okay! Okay c'mon then!" She holds her breath, as if expecting something. "Just do it already! I'm right here! Just do it!" She screams. The echoing silence of the street greet her. Lie turns, running back off again into the forest.

Kenny slowly eases out from behind his cover of the dumpster, realizing he's totally lost her. He was right about her. He watched the way she defended herself and attacked in gym. You don't just learn that kind of instinct and brute force from martial arts classes, you learn that from instinct. That part of a person is burned in, seared onto them like a brand. The way she moved wasn't even second nature. It was too much to be second nature. And that fear in her eyes when the first ball came… Kenny shudders just thinking about it. That was fear. Potent and thick. That was _fear._

Kenny sighs, realizing he won't be able to find Lie until later. He turns, walking back down the road towards the railroad tracks and to his home.

Once in the cracked and weed filled driveway, he pauses before the door, expecting loud drunken slurs. Then he hears them in his silence, when before it was muffled by the sounds of the wind.

"Shut 'yer mouth ya' drunk bitch!" His father screeches like an animal. Kenny sighs.

"You shut up ya' dumb asshole!" His mother slurs.

Kenny eases open the door, nearly using his backpack as a shield. His father and mother stand on opposite sides of the couch, a large cigarette in his father's hand and a bottle of vodka in the other. His mother, a tall and skinny woman with disproportionate features and a dirty face holds a bottle of wine in her left hand and it sloshes the staining red liquid across the already stained carpet. Her scraggly vibrant red hair lies tattered on her dirt smudged face. Her lip is busted and bleeding.

His dad's signature trucker hat is crooked on his mop of dish water brown hair, his blue shirt is nearly falling off his shoulders and it looks like vomit is on the floor beneath him. He turns and sees his son in the doorway, his face pressed into a disgruntled scowl. Kenny pinches the bridge of his nose and tugs his orange hood over his face, but before he can tighten the lip around his face his father speaks.

"Oh, look who 'da hell it is! Our damn dumbass-s-s son…" He slurs, taking a long swig of the vodka. "Come in son…" His father motions him over.

"Don't get 'im involved, dick! He's just like you! A good f'r nothing piece of shit!" His mother spits.

"I 'aint no piece of shit! He got that from you, bitch!" He takes a long drag of his cigarette and spits on the floor.

Kenny turns to walk behind his father into the hallway to his room when Stuart abruptly stops Kenny with his hand. "Where the hell do you think you're going, shit?"

"To my room."

"Are you try'n to sass me? Huh, ya' little smart ass? Little shity smart ass? Huh, huh?" He slurs, shoving Kenny on his chest. "That's my room that I paid for with my money and all that-", He pauses, taking a long gulp of the vodka. "-all that shit in there that I paid for?"

"Fine, your room, Dad." Kenny puts his hands up in surrender.

"Don't bullshit me you little shit!" Stuart swings a heavy punch into Kenny's stomach and he topples, nearly smashing into the wall. Kenny grunts, staggering. Stuart kicks him sharply in the ribs, to incoherently intoxicated to console or calm down. He kicks him repeatedly until Kenny begins to retch and vomit on the floor.

Stuart pulls him up by the collar and drags him up the wall, dropping the burnt out cigarette on the carpet. "Don't you shit with me… _son_." His father then swings his fist into Kenny's eye with brute force and smashes the bottle over his head. Kenny crumples to the floor, blinded by the stream of vodka dripping from his blonde hair into his eyes. "Teach you s'me damn respect." Stuart hisses.

Kenny, as he scrambles off of the floor and out of the room, takes a sideways glance to see why his mom didn't interrupt. He sighs, finding she's passed out on the couch, the wine dropped and guzzling all over the floor. Kenny runs down the hall, slamming the door behind him and sliding down, reaching up with an explosion of pain to lock the door.

Kenny sputters, blood spilling out of his front teeth. He drags himself over to his window, looking in the faint reflection to assess the damage. A small and jagged cut runs along the left side of his head just above his ear from where the bottle broke. His eye will no doubt be blacked tomorrow, and more than likely one of his ribs is bruised.

"Damn…" He mutters, collapsing on his bed.

"_Just come on!" _Lie's frantic screams echo through his ears and Kenny cringes. His eyes fall upon his dresser drawer.

At least there's one thing he can do today.

…

Lie snaps forward into her sideways defensive stance, lurching forward and landing sharp and pointed blows into the air. Her foot swings around and lies a straight kick into the side of the small tree trunk, spinning around on her free foot and landing another punch. She jumps backwards, skidding in the leaves.

The sun hasn't set yet and still burns with late afternoon haze through the thick heavy trees. Her breath is ragged and her eyes narrowed with a fierce burning rage. Her cheeks are puffy with dry tears of frustration and her eyes are still a little swollen from crying. Her grey tank top sags off of her frail and sagging dirty shoulders loosely and her jeans are newly ripped.

As she begins another round of attacks a voice startles her from behind. With instinctual precision she brings her foot around and stops seconds before sending Mysterion sprawling out across the leaves. Her toe is just close enough to feel the fabric of his hood. He seems unfazed, his simmering blue eyes watching her curiously. He can see she's been crying and beads of sweat drip of her face like rain.

Lie lowers her leg and stands, facing Mysterion as an equal.

"Hello." She pants.

"Great reflexes there." Mysterion smirks.

"Mm." Lie watches him silently. "Is there a reason you're here? Or just the usual, 'my eyes' bullshit?"

"Just the usual." Mysterion jokes. He wouldn't normally talk to anyone like this, at least not in disguise, but he feels some sort of flexible yet physical duty to make Lirah a little happier. She seems extremely torn up and he needs to find out why exactly. Only very petty girls could be affected by Wendy and her friends, and Lie just isn't the type to be bothered by that kind of shit.

"No, that's not it." Lie corrects him, sitting against a tree in the leaves. Mysterion sits across from her. "You're here because you can tell I was crying." Her eyes narrow with that emotionless and icy glare that could strike terror into someone.

"…yes."

"Why do you care?"

"What did the Testaburger girl say to you?" Lie raises an eyebrow.

"Oh? You know Wendy Testaburger?"

"I've been in this town for a long time, Lirah. I know everyone."

"Right, right. How do you know she talked to me?"

"I have eyes everywhere, remember?"

"Right, right. Lie by the way, not Lirah." Mysterion nods in acknowledgement.

"Alright, Lie."

"She told me she'd post pictures of me online and make sure everyone knew my name." She admits sheepishly, going pale. Lie reaches for her backpack, pulling it close to her and drinking a long gulp of the water.

"Oh? You don't seem like the type to be bothered by that, camping in the woods and what not."

"You think I give two shits about what she thinks?" Lie scoffs loudly. "It's just… no one can know who I am or where I am… or else…" She goes silent. "I don't know why I'm telling you all this…" She mutters, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Because I can help." She scoffs again.

"If you think you can help me, let me tell you something, Mysterion. Your head is far up your ass."

Mysterion raises an eyebrow, still visible through the mask. "You'd be surprised."

"No, I don't think I would be." Lie bends, packing up her things and pulling her hoodie on. The sun has already set and a darkness is seeping into the sky.

"Where are you going?" He asks, standing. Lie looks at the sky, forlorn painted on her face.

"I don't know." She whispers, barely audible. Then a loud noise rips through the clearing. Mysterion jumps and Lie blushes a crimson color.

"What was-"

"Just my stomach." She admits softly, turning her head away.

"Are you-"

"Girl living in the forest, use your big superhero brain. I'm not swimming in cash."

"I know a place." Mysterion steps forward towards her as she pulls her hood up around her head. She turns to him, a look of surprise on her face.

"You're offering to feed me?" Her voice cracks a little at the end of the sentence. Mysterion nods. "Why?"

"Everyone needs someone sometime." He says quietly.

"Okay." Lie responds after a moment of silence.

The two begin to walk out of the forest, Mysterion in the lead, and they step out into the road. Lie stops in the middle of it, looking up at the moon. "It's nice… tonight." She smiles wryly.

"Lie look out!" Mysterion shouts in panic as a car comes barreling towards them. Within moments the front of the red car has smashed into her side, crushing her in on herself like a leaf bending in the wind. Her body crumples under the car, rolling with a loud crunch under the tires as it drives over her and speeds off into the night.

Kenny stands over her body, staggering forward in a daze. He collapses down at her side, her legs bent inwards at awkward angles, her chest rising and falling with infrequent and ragged breaths. The whole left side of her face is streaked with crimson blood and part of her upper arm is nearly tenderized.

"Oh God…" Mysterion croaks, bending down beside her. _"It should have been me…_" He screams at himself.

He watches in silence as the light fades from her vibrant green eyes and the air escapes from Lie's lips as her life burns out. Lirah's head lolls towards the sky, her eyes fixed on the distant glow of the white moon, leaving Mysterion alone with only the lifeless body of a dangerous girl in the street.

And her breathing stops.


	5. Afraid

_I know this chapter is pretty short and that I sort of end it on a weird note but I should update fairly soon so there won't be too much of a wait hopefully. Thanks for all the reviews: cortez30, PetuniaViolet, lexa, and Guest. _

_Now to the story! ^^_

_-Realm 13_

* * *

Chapter Five

Afraid  


Kenny can't think straight. Hell, he can hardly breathe. Bellow him is Lirah, the mysterious and short new girl, dead. Her body is horribly bent and broken, her once brilliant green eyes glazed over with an empty white wax. A large red streak of blood cascades gradually down the left side of her face, obscuring part of her mouth and eye.

"It should have… been… me…" Mysterion chokes, too worked up to remember to take off the fake voice. If it had been him he would have just woken up tomorrow, and Lie would have forgotten and the world would have turned as normal. If it had been him, this vibrant and dangerous girl would still be alive, living in the forest. If it had been him no one would have cared. If it had been him… oh got if it had been him…

Mysterion clenches his eyes shut, pressing his gloved hand over them and gripping his nose tightly to stop himself from crying, something that seems to be foreign to him now. But if it had been him… the crushing weight of knowing that he could have saved her life smothers him like a heavy blanket.

He is so caught up in his woes that Mysterion doesn't even realize when Lie's eyes blink slowly for one long moment.

Lie's eyes re open to be greeted with a wall of starry darkness. With a sharp and painful gasp her body shudders to life, her hands contorting and head snapping backwards painfully. It comes back down, whacking the asphalt as her bones re align and her wounds cease to exist. She closes her eyes for a moment longer, then reopens them and slowly moves her head.

Someone is crying. Someone is holding her hand.

Someone _saw. _

In a blaze of panic and horror, Lie shoots upwards, snatching up her backpack in one swift movement and stopping only to face Mysterion. She stands in front of him, him on the ground on the other side of the pool of her blood. His eyes widen with surprise and he sits on the ground, petrified with fear.

"Wai-!" Before he can finish Lie has already begun running, taking off down the street as fast as a bullet from a gun, panting, and her breathing ragged with fear. "Wait!" Mysterion shouts loudly after her, running nearly just as fast.

Lie doesn't stop, no, if anything she runs _faster. _She skids to a stop in the busy intersection in front of an office building and a post office. Mysterion gets a second ahead, nearly coming close enough to touch Lie's backpack before she darts behind Harbuck's coffee and throws herself behind a dumpster, hidden entirely from sight.

Mysterion stops in the alley, nearly out of breath from the frantic urgency of the night and the coldness of the air. "Lie!" He shouts throughout the alley way. He lost her. He lost a dead girl.

…

"Dude, Kenny, are you okay?" Stan asks, leaning over the door of the blonde boy's locker, noticing the heavy black eye and the dark circles from sleeplessness around his cheeks.

"Huh…?" He mutters incoherently, snapping out of his daze.

"What happened to your eye?" Kyle asks as a short blonde haired boy in a sky blue jacket comes over to the group, standing behind Kenny.

"Oh Jesus, Kenny! How'd ya' get that big 'ol shiner?" Butters rocks on his heel, eyes widening with concern. Kenny sighs, closing his locker and leaning against the door, groaning under his breath something inaudible. He turns his hood up over his head and pulls the strings shut around his face, walking off to the bathroom and disappearing behind the door. "What'd we do?" Butters asks, guilt forming on his childish features.

"Nothing Butters, it was probably his dad or brother again. You know Kenny. Hey, has anyone seen Lie?" The boy under the green hat says, opening his own locker next to Stan's.

"No, I haven't seen her." Stan throws his backpack into the locker and closes it, cracking his neck and turning to Kyle. "Think something happened? It's only her what… fifth day? She might have just gotten sick."

"Yeah… I guess. Never mind, at least it will get Wendy and her bitches off your back for a day." Kyle smirks.

"Hey you guys, where's the poor kid?" Cartman snickers loudly, slapping Butters roughly on the back and making the blonde boy jump. "Off sucking some dick for cash?" Cartman laughs hysterically at his own joke and Kyle rolls his eyes, pressing his locker closed and moving off to class, past the bathroom door.

"I'm going insane…" Kenny mutters to himself, shaking his head back and forth and pulling off his hood. The blonde splashes water on his face and groans, rubbing his right temple. There is no way Lie was actually dead. She was probably kidding with him or something. But that still wouldn't explain why she had run so fast with such… terror. He shudders, watching his own swollen eyes in the mirror.

He must look like shit to his friends. His eye, the one that isn't blackened, has deep black circles under it from sleeplessness. The boy's face is unusually pale and his hair is messier and stringier than usual. Karen had to take his brush, his dad might have stolen it to try and sell along with some other missing junk including Kenny's phone. His parka is extraordinarily dirty today, one large red stain on the left shoulder and small darker patches sprinkled down his back and on his front from the vodka. He smells like alcohol and sweat.

The bell trills loudly throughout the room and Kenny picks up his books off of the floor- his backpack having been stolen by his dad to sell- and walks out of the bathroom. But not before pulling his hood over his worn features.

In the hallway he passes by Red and Bebe hovering over the water fountain together, Bebe glances up and elbows Red, who blushes and giggles softly.

"Hi _Kenny…" _Bebe winks and gives a small wave.

Kenny grunts, ignoring them. Any other day the small gesture would have been much appreciated, in fact, he would have encouraged and embraced it whole heartedly. All the girls spent half of their time fawning over him like children on a normal day and with his current battered appearance the girl's see him as only more attractive.

He's one of the last to arrive in class that day, flopping down ungracefully beside Cartman and hiding his face behind his textbook to sleep, just for a little while.

"Hey _Kinny…_" Cartman whispers. The sleep deprived blonde shoots him a hateful glare. "Can I copy your homework?"

"What the hell makes you think I did my homework, Cartman?" Before waiting for a reply Kenny re-buries his head in his arms and closes his eyes.

He promises himself he'll only sleep just for a minute or two. Just for a minute. Kenny wants to pretend nothing ever happened, just for a minute.

…

"Oh God… oh real fucking God…" Lie mutters hurriedly, taking handfuls of her stuff and cramming it into her backpack. With a grunt of exasperated frustration she pulls out a blanket and a flashlight and throws them down in the leaves illuminated by the moon only. She spent most of the day restlessly sleeping in the storage room in the back of a coffee shop and the rest of the night stealing supplies from stores to make her trip.

With a loud groan of frustration Lie throws the heavy backpack over her shoulders and bends down to pick up her other bag.

"Lie-"

Lie spins around on her heel with a burst of energy, pulling out a long pair of black shears and snapping into her fighting stance, her eyes narrowed in a flaming panic and rage. Her boots swish against the leaves and her shoulders shudder with anticipation.

"No, I'm leaving, this is it. I'm leaving so just don't." She hisses, her breath sharp and angry, her breath hanging in warm clouds in the freezing air.

"Wait-"

"No!" She nearly screams, eyes wide with something close to fear. "No…" She pants, blinking for a long moment.

"Lie… please wait-", Mysterion inches forward and Lie lurches towards him, blade outstretched like part of her body, an extension to her arm. She moves with it as one.

"No. G-God… god _dammit_…" She shudders, blinking back tears. Mysterion can feel her fear. It's saturated and pure, shuddering and hurtful. She's terrified. Absolutely terrified. Mysterion takes one step forwards, and Lie tenses, backing up gradually. "Please… just leave me the hell alone."

"It's okay- really- it's okay. Just, tell me what happened."

Lie bites her tongue and shakes her head, blinking for a long moment again and lowering her long scissors. "I need to leave. I really-really need to leave. I can't tell you because somehow everyone else will find out and I'll be found out and-", her pupils shrink to tiny little pin pricks of panic again, as if remembering something. Her whole body wretches painfully as if she's about to throw up but she holds it together, pulling the blade closer to her chest and inhaling deeply before re opening her eyes, spitting fire.

"Lie-", before she can interrupt Mysterion raises his voice above her frantic cries so he can be heard. "-You died!" The silence after is painful and Lie winces at the end of his sentence, lowering her weapon to her side. "…You had died." Mysterion finishes, stepping forward once again.

"'Had' being the key word there…" Her voice is quiet, strained, and painful.

"Lie…?" It isn't really a question but at the same time he says it as if he's waiting for something more. She simply shakes her head, her shoulders arching and relaxing with one shuddering breath.

"I-I should kill you."

Mysterion's eyes widen with horrified surprise. He slowly steps back, gulping. "Wait-"

"I-I really should kill you." She slowly raises the blade in her hand and lowers her head, her gaze becoming hidden behind that one long strand of hair.

"Wait- you asked me what my superpower was… right?" Kenny is losing ground, flailing blindly. This is probably his only chance to get her to listen, if she doesn't she'll be gone and he'll never know. And plus, dying really isn't what he had in mind for today.

"Stop…", her voice cracks as if she's about to cry as Lie steps forward, shoes crunching on the leaves. "I really will do it you know…"

"Lie, listen." Mysterion inhales deeply, striding forward until he's not even standing an inch from her. His toes are nearly touching hers and Lie raises her head, her eyes almost shaking in their sockets with fear. Her fingers tense around the handle of the scissors and Mysterion outstretches both of his arms.

"Don't you at least want to fight it?" She asks, chuckling emotionlessly, as if it pains her.

"Lie, listen." Mysterion reaches out a gloved hand and pulls the tip of the scissors, still grasped in her hands, and touches it to his heart. He isn't in the least bit scared and Lie jumps with fear and an emotion similar to rage. "I can't die."

There is nothing but silence in the clearing while Lirah inhales deeply. She releases the breath like a shuddering gasp and wind brushes through the two. She gulps, blinking hard.

"You… can't. Because… because… because…" As if something snaps in her head she collapses to the ground wailing like a wounded animal. "…because I can't die!" She screams at the top of her lungs. Lie raises her tear and dirt stained face, ready to embrace something horrible. "So go ahead, scream! Call the cops, the military, call everyone! Call up the whole fucking world!" She continues to scream hysterically. "I was stupid enough to believe I could hide forever, that I could have a normal fucking life! But someone always finds out… and is this all you people ever are? Afraid!?

"You're all just _afraid!_"


	6. Out of The Streets

Chapter Six

Out of The Streets  


"Thank you, again." Lie says, sitting on top of the roof of South Park's community center. Clasped in both of her hands is a coffee from a local shop and in a bag beside her is all of her trash from a McDonald's meal. The hood of her jacket swishes around her head with a gust of wind and she turns to glance at Mysterion.

He's standing next to her, looking out over the town, an unreadable expression on his face. And Lie is a great people reader. His cape and hood swish around him chaotically and he turns, walking back up the slightly slanted roof and sitting beside Lie.

"Sure. You needed it." He replies. There is a moment of silence in which the only noise is Lie swallowing a large gulp of bitter coffee and sighing with bliss. "Lie?"

"Yeah?"

"What made you finally believe what I said?" He turns to look her in the eye. "About not being able to die."

"This is gonna' sound so god damn cheesy. It was the look in your eye. The expression you had… that kind of pain can't be faked." She takes another sip.

"How come I remembered, though?" He asks her.

"What do you mean, 'remembered'?" Lie crumples up the paper cup and brings her lighter to the corner of it. She backs up a little and sets the cheap container into a steady orange blaze. Mysterion jumps backwards, surprised as the flickering light from the fire creates bizarre dancing shadows on Lie's face, illuminating a slightly unnerving grin.

"Woah, Jesus Christ, what the hell?"

Lie turns over the burning cup in her hands, her fingertips dancing around the edge of the blaze, as if the fire was cautious of burning her pale skin. She drops the cup on the roof and watches the flames eat the last of the paper and cardboard until they're reduced to smoldering embers. Then she picks up the paper bag from the fast food chain and throws it on top of the charred remains of the cup, blowing gently on the dying embers. They smolder, then gradually erupt with the same crackling blaze. The smell of burning coffee and paper fill the air and this time when the fire dies out, she seems almost sad.

"You didn't answer what I said." Lie turns to him, now sitting facing his direction. "What do you mean 'remembered'?"

"Every time I die I wake up in my bed like nothing ever happened… everyone forgets I had ever even died and the world just goes back to normal, whether I'm there or not. No one ever remembers me dying or telling them about me dying." He says quietly, as if releasing a large ball of pent up energy.

Lie frowns. "It's different for me. I wake up instantly after, at most ten minutes after I died in the exact same place and _everyone _remembers." She glances at him. "You're lucky."

"Wait you mean people remember?" Mysterion asks, genuinely confused now. "How?"

"I don't know. I guess we were created by different forces." She mutters, holding down the trigger on her lighter and watching the tiny flickering flame dance on the silver tip.

"Do you know where your 'ability' came from?" Mysterion eyes the fire warily in her hands.

Lie blows a thin strand of blackening hair out of her eyes. "No. But I've had it as long as I can remember."

"I think I know where mine came from…" He trails off, watching a car go slowly by on the street below.

"Really?" Lie closes up her lighter, leaning forward on her knees, pressing really close to Mysterion, but not close enough to touch him. "Where?"

He sighs. "Once, when I was nine, I found this cult that worships all of the Cthulhu Lovecraft Mythos. I think they had something to do with it but I never found out for sure. I don't even think any of the cult members are still around here anymore… and it was really just a hunch anyways."

"Oh. I've read some of the Cthulhu Mythos. I really liked Lovecraft for a while… he was honestly an amazing writer. You think those nut jobs made you?" Mysterion nods, a shadow falling over his face. "I don't have any hunches at all really… I've mostly been in and out of different…" she cringes at the words and flinches visibly. "…experimental and military facilities for the bulk of my life. Basically, if all the governments in the world hear of the prospect of a virtually immortal soldier, they'll do anything." She sighs deeply. "You're lucky no one remembers."

"Maybe if the same guys that 'changed' me had something to do with you too…" Mysterion trails off.

"I wish." She whispers. "I don't think I'd change it though, if I could take this… _thing _away."

"Really?" She nods. "I don't know."

Mysterion stands and Lie does the same, stretching her arms over her head and yawning loudly. He turns to her, face illuminated by the waning moon. He silently helps her down off the roof and the two stand in the back parking lot, both now holding themselves with an air of blissful happiness.

"I wonder if you'll remember what I told you." Mysterion says very quietly. "You might just forget, like everyone else."

Lie chuckles loudly, pulling her backpack tighter around her shoulders. "Hell yeah. I'm sick of being alone with all this bullshit I have to deal with." She gives him a sincere lop sided smirk. "When am I gonna' see you again?" She asks.

"I don't know." He blinks for a long moment.

"Well…" She stretches, sighing deeply. "It's not like you're going anywhere, _Mysterion._ By the way, who are you? Really?" She pulls her own hood down around her shoulders, brown tipped black hair becoming visible again under the pale moonlight. But he is already gone. Lie scoffs, shrugging and walking off back towards Stark's Pond and towards her camp.

She'll stay.

For now.

…

Stan and Kyle both exchange a glare towards Cartman, who has just beaten them for the fifth time at their new video game. He's now tasked himself with dancing on top of Stan's (formerly) immaculately made bed, mocking the pair as loud as he possibly can.

"Nyah nyah nyah nyah-nyah nyah!"

"Shut up, Cartman!" Kyle screams loudly.

"You're just all pissy, 'cos I'm better than you!" He snickers loudly as the doorbell trills loudly downstairs.

Stan sighs, standing. "It's probably Lie, I told her she could come over to work on our project. Wait here, I'll go get her." Stan hurries out of the room, leaving the brunette and red head alone.

"So…" Cartman starts, elongating the O sound, "… what do you think of her?"

"Who, Lie?"

"No, Kyle, I meant Miley Cyrus." He snaps sarcastically. "Yes, fucking Lie!" Cartman adjusts his position on Stan's bed waiting for Kyle to respond. The red head places the X-box controller down in front of him and rolls over on the bean bag, reaching for his phone.

"I don't really know. She seems nice enough but a little weird…" Kyle checks the time before turning back to face the TV.

"Personally, I don't trust her. I can trust her about as much as a good Christian man can trust a Jew…" Kyle sends Cartman a glare that he seems to not notice. "…it's just in her name, it's like one of the, 'hidden in plain sight ironic bullshit.' She's got a secret, _Kahl. _I can feel it." Just then the door to Stan's room opens and he walks inside, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"Yeah, so this is my room." Lie shuffles her feet behind her. Something in her general air has shifted, she seems brighter but for a reason none of the boys can think of. The short girl peeks around Stan's shoulder as he walks into the room. "Kyle and Cartman have been hanging over here for a while, they can leave if you want to work in peace." Stan sighs, assuming she'll ask them to go.

"Nah." Lie shrugs her shoulders as she sets her backpack down by Stan's door as he closes it after him. "It's fine."

Lie pulls at the corner of her pale blue-grey hoodie and tugs it over her head, dropping it down on top of her bag. Under this she is wearing a black tank top with a light and smooth fabric. She pulls a beat up and stained notebook out of her bag that has pages bursting at the seams. Stan drags his bean bag over to the side of his bed, under Cartman. As the relatively large boy moves to sit next to Kyle to start the new round of their game, Lie flops down on her back onto Stan's bed.

"Ahh…" She sighs, bringing her arm up to cover her eyes. A broad grin crosses her face and she quickly sits up, blushing brightly at the three boy's confused stares. "What? It's comfortable, okay?" She smirks. Kyle and Cartman exchange a glance and Stan does as well. Lie sighs loudly, almost as if it's meant to be a groan. "Honestly… you're looking at me like I'm some kind of monster."

"S-sorry." Kyle mumbles softly. Besides this, the group of boys don't have much experience handling this kind of situation. The only other girls they've even hung out with before are Wendy and whatever girl Kenny happens to be trying to seduce that week. The position they're in, in general, is pretty much foreign.

The small sub groups the boys and girl have divided themselves into carry on for almost an hour separately. Stan and Lie writing and Cartman and Kyle playing their graphic zombie hunting game. Lie suddenly yawns, stretching her unusually bony arms high above her head and cracking her neck.

"I think we're done…" Stan says, cracking a small grin of accomplishment. "I'll take care of editing it and turning it in, I'll type it up, too, assuming you don't have your computer set up yet."

"You assume correct, sir." Lie says, grinning and clicking her tongue.

Kyle groans loudly as he dies for the fourth consecutive time in a row and Cartman cackles loudly. Stan gets up, hovering over the two as Lie takes the subtle hint in the raven haired boy's movements and grabs her jacket.

"How about going to Harbucks?" Stan asks, glancing at the low hanging storm clouds outside.

"Thank God… get me away from this fucking game." Kyle mutters bitterly, grabbing his own jacket off of the floor. "Hey Stan, call Kenny, too."

"Alright." He says, grabbing his phone and glancing at the clock before dialing and stepping out of the room with Kyle at his heels, leaving Lie and Cartman alone. The usually oblivious and large brunette boy notices a sudden change in the air of the room and turns to see Lie, frozen in place, staring out of the window. Turning off Stan's Xbox he walks over, hovering not too far behind her, looking out into the street under the stormy clouds.

Outside, standing in the middle of the road, is a tall and muscular man, his face hidden behind a mop of silky black hair, dressed in a rather tight and crisp black suit with a tie. What Eric doesn't notice is the gun holster hidden under his jacket. Lie's blood runs cold and she quickly pulls the curtains across the window, concealing the man. She turns quickly, nearly screaming when she bumps into Cartman's chest, not realizing he was behind her. She tries to squirm away, but the now curious and forceful boy grabs her by both of her shoulders.

"The hell was that?"

"W-what?" Lie stutters, clearly shaken.

"That dude, who was he?"

Lie shakes her head and shrugs her shoulders, even though she looks like she's about to puke. Cartman glares. "I don't know!" the short haired girl holds up her hands defensively, shaking her head "no" again.

"I don't believe you, _Lie._ Who the fuck was he?"

"God do you ever stop cussing?" She tries to push past him but the much larger boy forces her back into place in front of him again.

"Stop avoiding the question."

"I told you I don't know." Lie scowls now.

"And I told you that I know you're _lying_. You're pretty bad at it, you know." Cartman grumbles, frowning in frustration. Lie tries to wiggle out of his grip again, clearly very worried now.

"It doesn't matter."

"Whoever it was scared the freakin' shit out of you so it kinda' does matter." Lie's eyes suddenly narrow to a violent intensity and her voice drops to a low and commanding growl, as if she's ready to rip the boy's head off or do something horribly violent.

"Let it go." It's a demand, almost a threat.

Cartman pushes her forward towards Stan's bedroom door, nearly dragging her down the staircase to the front door. Her face becomes so pale, it's almost a medical mystery how she's still conscious. Immediately upon hitting the first floor, Lie beings to become nearly hysterical, thrashing as wildly as she can without hurting Cartman, and whimpering all kinds of pleas and warnings. Cartman pins her arms to her side and forces her at the door. Stan and Kyle come bounding out of the kitchen.

"Dude, what the hell?" Stan shouts loudly, running forwards.

"No, no, please, Cartman you don't want to do this! Please-!" Lie is almost in tears when Cartman flings the door open.

Lie's vision swirls and the last color drains out of her face in an instant as she falls unconscious in Cartman's still restricting grip. Kenny stands in the doorway, mouth peeled into his usual cocky and lopsided smirk. His blue eyes widen with horror and surprise.

"Woah. What'd I miss?"


End file.
